As Alberta (and everywhere else) deals with the economic fallout from U.S. trade policy under President Trump, the activity spurred by its population growth will help it weather the storm. When you stop to add it up, it’s an impressive demographic story in which Alberta leads the country.

At the same time, the province’s recent growth spurt presents challenges as job creation, housing and infrastructure try to catch up. Longer-term demographic forces include a growing proportion of seniors and ongoing urbanization.

To help get our heads around this, we’ve pulled together the key demographic stats into a handy new report that we will update as new data become available.

Key trends include:

• Canada’s population star - Alberta’s annual population growth has outpaced every other province and territory for two years in a row. Over 24 months ending July 1, 2024, Alberta added just shy of 378,000 new residents. According to Statistics Canada's real-time population clock, Alberta hit the 5-million mark on May 11.
• An international affair - The annual number of immigrants arriving in Alberta reached a record high in 2024 at over 60,000. An even bigger story, however, has been the meteoric rise in the number of net non-permanent residents (NPRs) added to Alberta’s population. Alberta added 91,260 NPRs in 2024 compared to 11,497 two years earlier.
• Welcome neighbour - Alberta recorded a near-record net gain of 43,750 residents from other parts of Canada last year.
• Baby steps - Natural increase added over 15,000 people to Alberta’s population last year. The Atlantic provinces, Quebec and B.C. all experienced natural decrease last year.

Looking ahead at where the trends are pointing:

• Growth will continue - Alberta is on track to add more people in the years and decades ahead, but at a more moderate pace than we've seen in recent years. 
• The population will get older - The proportion of seniors in the population will increase, but will remain lower than in the country as a whole.
• Even more urban - Urban centers and the surrounding areas are projected to see the strongest population growth and account for the vast majority of overall population gains.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The Edmonton Oilers have won five Stanley Cup championships.

Today’s trivia question: By enrollment, what is the largest university in Alberta?